DAVAO CITY (PNA) Feb. 5 – A boxing official in Davao doest not agree on the proposed house bill that will already prohibit minors from joining in the tournaments of any contact sports especially in boxing.

“It’s like saying kids should go to college without passing through elementary and high school,” said Gene Rose Tecson, team manager of Barangay Una Boxing Team of Panabo City and Davao del Norte.

Tecson, chief of staff of Cong. Anton Lagdameo, suggested that boxing organizers should just “make sure especially during tournaments that the kids have gone through proper training and medical check-up and not those perfunctory things that they do.”
“More importantly, they have properly trained referees-judges manning the bouts, tournaments and not those ‘pinulot lang sa tabi’ or recycled ones just to ensure the tournament will go on,” said Tecson, also Assistant Executive Director for Mindanao Area 2 of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines Inc.

Barangay Una recently won four gold medals plus two silvers and four bronzes in the just-concluded Batang Pinoy National Games (15 under) held in Bacolod City.

During the TV interview, Batocabe said the safety gear being used in amateur contact sports is not enough to protect young athletes from injury. He said a direct hit on the head can shake the brain and leave long-term effects.

He said that only when a person reaches the legal age should he or she be allowed to compete in contact sports because the person is already old enough to decide for himself or herself.
Batocabe compared the bill to laws that prohibit minors from smoking, drinking, or driving.

Batocabe and Co have decided to push for the bill following the death of 16-year-old amateur boxer Jonas Joshua Garcia.
Garcia was rendered in comatose after competing in the Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association in Iba, Zambales. He later passed away.